Pistachio White Chocolate Cheesecake

This is a recipe from the Pilsbury website. It has one of my most favorite flavoring and scents in the world--almond extract! There's something oddly invigorating in watching the cheesecake turn a light shade of green when you add the pistachio pudding mix to the cream cheese mixture. 

Ingredients:

Crust

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (I used Oreos)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp. butter, melted

Filling

20 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup sour cream (I used light)

1/2 tsp. almond extract

4 eggs

1 (3.4-0z) package instant pistachio pudding and pie filling mix

2 cups white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped shelled pistachios

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar; mix well. Stir in butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 min. Cool 10 min. Wrap outside of pan, bottom and sides,with heavy duty foil. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese in large bowl at medium speed until creamy. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar until very soft and creamy. Add sour cream and almond extract; beat well. Reduce  speed to low; add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

With a whisk, beat in pudding mix until well-mixed. Stir in white chocolate chips. Pour into crust-lined pan. Sprinkle pistachios over top. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min or 1 hour and 20 min., or until sides of cheesecake are set and slightly puffed but center still moves when pan is tapped. Cool cheesecake in pan on wire rack 1 hour. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. To serve, remove sides of pan. Cut cheesecake into wedges.